Blueberry Buckle
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This magnificent blueberry buckle recipe has moist sour cream cake, crunchy crumb topping, & tons of sweet, jammy blueberries!
Have you ever heard of blueberry buckle?
I just love the sound of those words together!
In case you aren't familiar, it's basically just a blueberry coffee cake.
But for my blueberry buckle recipe, I wanted to do something slightly different. I wanted it to be almost like a cross between a crumb cake and a blueberry crisp. And I wanted LOTS of blueberries!
So this is what I came up with, and I really think you're going to love it!
And if you're looking for more seasonal summer fruit recipes, be sure to check out my white sangria, my chocolate zucchini muffins, and my strawberry cheesecake!
Table of Contents
- What is blueberry buckle?
- Why this is the best blueberry buckle recipe
- What does blueberry buckle taste like?
- Ingredients
- Special equipment
- How to make blueberry buckle
- How to serve blueberry buckle
- Expert tips
- Frequently asked questions
- A few more of my best blueberry recipes
What is blueberry buckle?
- A moist sour cream cake on the bottom,
- A jammy layer of blueberry pie filling in the middle, and
- A crunchy blanket of buttery cinnamon streusel on top!
Why this is the best blueberry buckle recipe
- Tastes amazing: It's just sweet enough, and there's plenty of juicy summer fruit!
- Few ingredients: You'll only need a handful of pantry staples, plus blueberries.
- Easy to make: Follow each step, one by one, and you should have no trouble with this simple recipe.
- Versatile: You can use fresh berries or frozen, so check the unit price and see which is the most economical at any given time of year.
What does blueberry buckle taste like?
When you first take a bite, you'll get the subtle vanilla flavor of the sour cream cake. It's very moist and there's just a hint of lemon to bring out the tanginess of the sour cream.
Next, you'll get the sweet fruitiness of the blueberries. There's plenty of seasonal fruit in this buckle!
And finally, the buttery streusel. There's just a hint of cinnamon, to contrast with the fruit.
Ingredients
Flour: All-purpose flour forms the cake's structure. You could also use a gluten-free flour blend, if needed.
Sugar: Regular granulated sugar sweetens the cake, but also keeps it moist and helps it to brown on the bottom. There's also light brown sugar in the crumb topping. Swap with any kind of sweetener that subs 1:1 if you like!
Leavening: Baking powder helps this cake to rise. Make sure you're using baking powder, not baking soda.
Salt: This ingredient balances and intensifies all the flavors. I like kosher salt best because it's cheap, easy to find, and doesn't have any bitter-tasting additives like iodine.
Butter: Unsalted butter adds richness to the cake and allows you to know exactly how much salt to add. The butter should be softened to room temp for the cake layer and melted for the crumb topping.
Eggs: Large chicken eggs (or a 1:1 plant-based substitute) add richness and structure to the cake.
Sour cream: Gives the cake a moist, tender quality.
Lemon: Lemon balances the flavors as well as helping to thicken the blueberry filling.
Vanilla: Vanilla extract lends a sweet aroma that enhances all the other flavors.
Blueberries: Feel free to use fresh or frozen berries. You do not have to let the frozen berries thaw first. They can go straight from freezer to pot!
Cornstarch: Cornstarch is a colorless, odorless, and flavorless starch that helps to thicken up the filling.
Cinnamon: Ground cinnamon adds a hint of warm spice to the crumb topping.
Special equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons: Follow my guide on how to measure ingredients.
- Pot: You'll need to cook both the blueberry filling and the crumb topping in a small saucepan.
- Pan: This blueberry buckle recipe is baked in a 9x9 metal baking pan. You could also use an 8x8 pan. Your buckle will just come out a little taller. If you use a glass or ceramic pan, you may need to adjust the bake time slightly.
- Non-stick spray: So nothing sticks to the pan.
- Parchment: Allows you to lift the cake out of the pan and onto a cutting board for slicing.
- Mixer: Fitted with the paddle attachment, to make the cake batter.
- Silicone spatula: For scraping the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl, and for getting every last bit out!
How to make blueberry buckle
This easy recipe comes together in 5 simple steps.
Step 1: Make the filling
Start by placing half the berries in your pot, along with the sugar, cornstarch, salt, and the peel of one lemon.
The lemon peel not only flavors the blueberries, but it also contains a small amount of pectin, to thicken the filling.
Toss everything together so it all gets coated, and cook the filling over medium-low heat until the berries give up their juice and the filling is syrup-y, thick, and jammy.
Remember that the filling will continue to become thicker as it cools.
Once it's completely cooled, fold in the remaining berries and get going on the cake layer.
Step 2: Make the cake batter
The cake is made with the reverse creaming method, which guarantees a tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture.
Start by combining the dry ingredients. Stir the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together, then add softened butter.
Work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles damp sand.
Then stir in the eggs, one at a time, allowing each one to fully incorporate before adding the next.
Finally, stir in the sour cream, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla.
Step 3: Make the crumb topping
This is my basic streusel recipe, made with light brown sugar and just a whisper of cinnamon!
Melt the butter, then just stir in the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. It's that simple!
Step 4: Layer
Transfer the cake batter to a greased and lined baking pan, then top it with the cooled blueberry filling.
Layer on the crumb topping, and it's ready for the oven!
Step 5: Bake
This cake should bake in a preheated oven until it's puffed and springy. The crumb topping should be slightly golden.
You'll know it's done when you press it gently in the center and it springs back.
How to serve blueberry buckle
This is a really versatile cake that can be enjoyed as a breakfast, brunch, or snack.
I really love it with an iced coffee!
Eat it warm, at room temperature, or chilled.
It looks extra-pretty if you give it a light dusting of powdered sugar, to highlight the texture of the topping.
Expert tips
Start early: It's best if you allow the filling plenty of time to cool before layering it over the cake batter. You may even want to make the filling the day before!
Room temperature ingredients: Allowing all the ingredients to come up to room temperature will help them incorporate more smoothly into the batter, so you don't get a lot of lumps. This is especially important for the butter! Follow our easy instructions for how to soften butter quickly.
Line the pan: Lining the pan with parchment gives you "handles" you can easily grab onto to lift the blueberry buckle out of the pan and onto a cutting board. You don't want to cut the buckle in the pan, it could scratch the nonstick coating and you'll end up with a rusty, peeling pan.
Try a lemon sugar topping instead: If you don't like blueberries and cinnamon together, use the zest of another lemon in place of the cinnamon, and swap the brown sugar for granulated white sugar.
Frequently asked questions
Use any kind of fruit you like!
Anything other than blueberries, raspberries, or cherries will probably first need to be chopped into bite-sized pieces.
But this recipe would work equally well with apples, pears, peaches, plums, or any of the above!
It's fine to leave this cake out at room temperature for around a day or so, but any longer than that and it should probably go into the fridge.
Slip it into a gallon-sized zip-top freezer bag, and it should keep (chilled) for close to a week.
Or you can freeze it! It should last in the freezer for a month or two. Thaw it in the fridge and reheat it in the microwave, or wrap it in foil and place it in a 170-degree F oven until warmed through.
I've cut the blueberry buckle you see here into 16 equal portions.
Each square is one serving, so the nutritional info below reflects a serving size of 1/16th of the whole batch.
A few more of my best blueberry recipes
- Blueberry Muffins
- Blueberry Cobbler
- Lemon Blueberry Scones
- Blueberry Pie
As an amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Blueberry Buckle
Ingredients
For the Blueberry Filling
- 2 pints (946.35 g) blueberries , (fresh or frozen), divided
- ⅔ cup (133.33 g) granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons (24 g) cornstarch
- ⅛ teaspoon (0.75 g) kosher salt
- peel from 1 lemon, medium
For the Sour Cream Cake
- 1 ½ cups (187.5 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon (3 g) baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon (1.5 g) kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 (88 g) eggs, large
- ⅔ cup (153.33 g) sour cream*
- zest of half a lemon, medium
- juice of half a lemon, medium
- 1 teaspoon (4 g) vanilla extract
For the Crumb Topping
- ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 ½ cups (187.5 g) all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (165 g) light brown sugar, firmly packed
- ½ teaspoon (1 g) ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon (1.5 g) kosher salt
- powdered sugar, optional garnish
Instructions
To Make the Blueberry Filling
- Place half the blueberries, the sugar, cornstarch, salt, and lemon peel in a small pot and toss to combine.
- Cook over medium-low heat (stirring) until syrupy and thick (the filling will become even thicker as it cools).
- Allow the filling to cool completely, then fold in the remaining berries.
To Make the Sour Cream Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Mist a 9x9-inch metal baking pan with non-stick spray and line it with parchment.
- Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and stir to combine.
- Work in the butter on medium-low speed, until the mixture resembles damp sand.
- Stir in the eggs, one at a time, allowing each one to fully incorporate before adding the next.
- Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula, then add the sour cream, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.
- Mix the batter for about a minute to a minute and a half on medium-high speed, to aerate the batter and build its structure.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth it into an even layer.
- Layer the blueberry filling over the cake batter.
- Top with crumb topping and bake until the cake is springy to the touch (approx. 35 to 45 minutes).
- Dust with powdered sugar, if desired.
To Make the Crumb Topping
- Melt the butter in a small pot over low heat.
- Add the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
- Stir to combine (mixture will seem doughy at first but will become more crumbly as it cools).
My first attempt at this recipe. Do I take the lemon peel
Hey Allan I think maybe you're asking if you should take the lemon peel out of the blueberry mixture after it's been cooked? If it hasn't completely cooked into the sauce and disappeared then the answer is yes. You can absolutely do that if you prefer. You could also tie the peel up into a little sachet with cheesecloth before putting it into the pot, to make for even easier removal. Thanks for reading and for the great question!
The flavors were fabulous! I don’t know if I used too many. Blueberries ( 2 cups in “ jam” and two additional cups...or if I didn’t cook it long enough but it was raw in the center at 45 minutes. It’s hard to test because the jam is soft on top. We ate around the edges and it was terrific. Should I use a bigger pan? I used a 9” springform pan.
Hm that doesn't sound right at all. Let me help you troubleshoot with a few questions: 1) Was your jam cold or at room temp? 2) What do you mean when you say "raw?" You are referring to the cake part or the blueberries? Is it actually raw like unbaked or is it just very moist/wet from the blueberries?
Hi, Thank you- the blueberries were room temp. The cake part was raw in the middle of the cake.
I can't imagine any 9-inch cake still being raw after 45 minutes in a 350-degree oven. Was the oven fully preheated? And just FYI: you never want to take a cake out of the oven without testing it first! I'd suggest maybe purchasing a little oven thermometer like this one: https://amzn.to/3ZtYHwX. It can hang from one of the racks, right up to the window so you can view it easily without having to open the door. This way you can see if your oven is calibrated properly. A lot of times they are not. They could be as much as 50-degrees off and that can make a huge difference in your baking. It tends to happen over time, they just wander out of calibration. But sometimes even newer ovens are off! Hope this is helpful. xo
Blueberry Buckle was a delicious Baby food dessert in the 1970's. Even adults loved it. So happy to hear you have created a dessert bringing back those wonderful memories when my daughter was a baby. Thank you!!
Lol how funny! I love that!
I baked this for my family dinner, it was an instant hit! I might have to double the recipe next time. The blueberry topping was perfectly jammy.
Yay! So happy you liked it! Thank you for the positive feedback!